Poison
by sonnetgirl01
Summary: A monster hunt goes badly wrong for Jack and Ianto. The concequences are painful for both. Bad summary, sorry. Rates M for possible later chapters. Chapter 3 up! R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Torchwood, or any of the characters (we can but dream).**

**A sort of follow-up to _'In These Arms',_ it becomes clear in later chapters, fear not!**

**Title from that great Alice Cooper song _'Poison'!_**

**Don't own that either. Damn!**

**Please R&R! Thank you!**

Poison

Chapter One

The bar was overcrowded, stuff and loud. Jack would have been in heaven, but he was on a mission. Rift energy spikes kept showing up at these co-ordinates. Ianto had already gone around the back way, and was heading to the basement. Jack was going to go up a level, to see if anything was going on there.

"_Jack!"_ came Ianto's voice through the comms. "_Jack, I think I might have found something!"_

"Okay, I'm coming down to meet you." Jack was a blur of action, his Greatcoat whipping through the air as he spun around and headed for the basement.

The steps were steep and narrow. Difficult to carry boxes of bottles up and down on.

He heard a crackling noise that didn't come through the comms. He increased his speed.

"Jack...!" came Ianto's slightly panicky cry.

"I'm... here..." Jack rounded a corner, and saw the reason why Ianto was slightly panicky. In the middle of the narrow hall was a monster. "Jesus Christ!"

The thing, whatever it was, was _huge_. If it stood on its hind haunches, it would tower over both men. It was hairy in places, and its physique resembled that of a wolf, but its face was more like a hairy lizard. The fur was a greenish colour, as if mould was growing in it. Fangs stuck out of its mouth at odd angles. Yellow cat's eyes stared at them with burning hatred and hunger.

"... Shit," said Jack. The creature let out a sound that was halfway between a growl and a snort.

Jack pulled his Webley out of its holster and pointed it at the beast.

With unbelievable speed, it leapt over their heads landed on the floor behind them, turning to face them once again.

Ianto looked at Jack with a confused look in his eye, but Jacks eyes were huge with fear and understanding. Ianto looked behind him and understood.

It was a solid wall. They were cornered.

The thing tensed its haunches, ready to strike.

Jack fired a round at it, but the thing was too quick. It leapt onto Ianto, pushing him to the ground.

Jack shot again. This time, the bullet found its mark.

The creature let out a high keening noise as the bullet buried itself into the beasts head. It growled once more, and fell to the ground, dead.

"Ianto!" Jack ran to the man, and fell to his knees at his side. "Ianto, are you alright?"

Ianto was blinking blearily and hauled himself into a sitting position. "Yeah, I think so. Scratches here and there, few bite marks. Bloody hurts."

Jack laughed with relief. "You had me worried."

Ianto sighed, amused. "Take more than that to get rid of me."

"Don't I know it?"

"Anyway, what the hell was that thing?" Ianto asked as Jack pulled him to his feet.

"Honestly? I have no idea. Weird though, wasn't it? Looked like something out of a Sci-Fi show."

"Don't care. It's dead now. Took your time, didn't you?"

Jack laughed, and took out his mobile, keying in Gwen's number.

"Gwen, hi, just to say... we're bringing something... unexpected back to the Hub, ok? See ya soon."

Ianto was looking at the beast as though he had just realised something.

"What?" asked Jack with amusement.

"How the hell are we going to get it into the SUV without people noticing? Look at the size of..."

Ianto trailed off, clutching his head and wincing slightly.

"What?" Jack asked again, this time concerned for Ianto.

"Ah, just slight headache. I think I may have hit my head on the floor."

Jack frowned slightly. "We'll check you over for concussion when we get back to the Hub. In the meantime, I really do need your help getting this into the SUV."

Ianto sighed, and picked up the hind legs of the beast, careful of its claws.

***

It was dark outside on the road, the street lamps doing their best to illuminate to road.

Jack threw a concerned look at Ianto. The man was slightly paler than usual, and a fine sheen of sweat covered his face. He had his eyes closed, as if concentrating on something.

Suddenly, he moaned.

"Jack, pull over."

Jack did without questioning.

Ianto undid his seatbelt at lightning speed, jumped out of the car and ran to the bushes. He clutched his stomach and threw up messily in to the hedges. Jack, highly concerned, unbuckled his seatbelt and got out, careful to avoid the traffic. He walked over to Ianto, who was vomiting again, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you ok?"

It was a daft question, but Jack could think of nothing else to say.

Ianto wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, and nodded. "I'm ok, I think. Just... I think I ate something bad."

Jack frowned again, and patted his shoulder. "Let's get you back to the Hub. Get some sleep."

Ianto nodded again, and went back to the car, went to the boot to extract a bucket. He then clambered back in and shut his door. Jack followed suit.

The engine started.

"Jack?" asked Ianto. "Do you think you could take it easy, please?"

"Sure, if it makes you feel better." Jack kept the SUV at a steady 50 mph.

Next to him, Ianto groaned again, and threw up into the bucket. Jack winced. Ianto surfaced again, panting, his hair plastered to his forehead.

"Christ, Ianto, are you sure it was something you ate? Food poisoning isn't normally this quick to set in."

"I'll be fine, Jack, don't worry too-" again Ianto broke off to vomit noisily into the bucket.

"No sex for me tonight, I'm guessing?"

"Ummm... no. Sorry." Ianto was panting heavily, and he was very pale, the sweat rolling down his face.

Suddenly, he gasped, held his stomach and bent double in pain. "JESUS... CHRIST!" he exclaimed, and lent over to throw up again. This time though, it seemed like he didn't have a lot left in his stomach to bring up; he dry-retched over the bucket, only to break off with a choking sound.

"Ianto, seriously, this can't be something you... ate..." Jack broke off as realisation hit him.

The bite marks.

The creature was poisonous.

Ianto was oblivious to Jack's sudden understanding. He was dry-retching for all he was worth, as though something was trying to force itself up his throat.

Jack rummaged in one of the pockets of the SUV, and brought out a bottle of water. "Drink some of this. Then, at least, you'll have something to puke on. Stop it hurting so much." He sounded distant as he frantically thought of what to do. Ianto, his lover Ianto was dying slowly beside him, and he was terrified.

Ianto took the bottle, and swigged down a mouthful, swallowing it. About four seconds later, it came back up again. Ianto spluttered, and took another gulp.

The SUV pulled into the parking space, and Jack jumped out, and ran out to help Ianto. The man was still busy bringing up the last mouthful of water. When he emerged, Jack took the near full bucket from him, and threw the gore into the hedge. He then slowly helped Ianto out of the SUV, and handed him the bucket. Ianto took it gratefully.

Jack placed an arm round the man's shoulders, and tapped the comms.

"Gwen? Yeah, come to the parking lot now. I really need your help. Thanks."

He looked back at Ianto, who was leaning heavily against the vehicle.

A minute later, Gwen emerged from the shadows.

"Jack, what...?" She trailed off when she saw Ianto.

"Gwen, I need your help getting Ianto into the Hub. Now."

Jack looped Ianto's left arm around his waist, Gwen doing the same to his right. They half walked, half dragged Ianto towards the Hub. The bucket lay forgotten next to the SUV.

Ianto groaned, and retched heavily, bringing up more water and digested food. Gwen leapt back, trying to stop it hitting her shoes.

"Gwen, grow up and help me!" hissed Jack. Most of it had ended up down Ianto's suit, but some of it was over Jack's trousers. He, however, didn't care. He was more focused of getting Ianto back to the Hub, to safety.

They were dragging Ianto through the cog door soon. Jack peeled himself away from Ianto and said, "Gwen, look after him. I need to make a phone call." Gwen let go of Ianto and stood next to him, stroking his arm as he dry-retched again.

Gwen's phone went and she flicked it open.

"Hello? Hey, Rhys. You ok? Good. Oh, I'm fine, bit busy, you know..." She wondered off, leaving Ianto by himself, leaning against the railings. Jack was half way through his phone call when he heard a clattering sound. He looked up and gasped. Ianto had fallen against the railings, having vomited a stream of blood down him front. And Gwen was nowhere to be seen.

Jack began to run towards Ianto, snapping his mobile shut as he went. He crouched down beside Ianto, who's eyes were distant in their pain.

"Ianto? IANTO!"

And then, with a high keening sound, Ianto fell forwards into Jack's arms, unconscious.

**So, What do you think? Is it okay? I'm not entirely happy with it. But we shall see ho it pans out. Please R&R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Just to say thanks to all of my lovely reviewers, I love you all!**

**This is my second chapter to Poison, I hope you enjoy!**

**Oh, and PLEASE R&R!!!**

**Thank you!!!!**

Chapter 2

"Ianto! IANTO!" Jack shouted at the unconscious man in his arms. "Ianto, wake up, please wake up..."

Gwen, hearing the commotion, ran back to where Jack was kneeling.

"Oh, god..." she whispered on seeing the blood that was staining Jacks blue shirt.

"Help me move him," Jack demanded, lifting Ianto from under the arms. Gwen took his feet, and together, they hoisted him onto the beaten sofa.

"Jack, what the hell do we do?" Gwen asked frantically, crouching beside Ianto, stoking his sweaty brow.

Jack didn't answer straight away.

"... I need to finish that phone call." Carefully, he bent down and kissed Ianto's forehead.

He then sprang up, and dashed towards his office, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he went.

Gwen stared after him, and then turned her attention back to Ianto.

*

"Martha, I need your help, please-" Jack panted into the phone.

"Jack, take a deep breath. You said the alien was poisonous, yes?" Martha sounded remarkably calm, ever the professional.

"Yeah, I think. Ianto got bitten by it, and now he's... he's..." Jack couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Dying?" said Martha. Jack winced.

"Yeah."

"Ok, I'm quite near, I'm coming over, I'll be there in about an hour."

"Thanks, Martha."

"In the mean time, I need you to gather his vital stats, temperature, that kind of thing, ok?"

"Sure, if you trust us."

"I do. I'll be there soon Jack." With that, the called ended, and Jack allowed himself a small smile of relief. He then ran back over to where Gwen was still stroking Ianto's forehead.

"Jack, who was that on the phone?" Gwen asked.

Jack crouched down to kneel next to Gwen. "Martha. Seeing as we don't have Owen, she's the next best thing."

"Does she know how to cure him?"

"We don't even know what the poison is yet, Gwen. She'll be here soon. We need to move him to the Autopsy room."

Again they hoisted unconscious Ianto off of the sofa, slowly and carefully moving his down into the Autopsy room, placing him on the table.

"I don't like seeing him there; it looks like he's a corpse." Gwen muttered, staring at Ianto.

Jack was already bustling around the room, grabbing seemingly random items.

"We've got to get his basic stats." Jack threw Gwen a thermometer. "Take his temperature."

Gwen looked at the heavy, complicated instrument. "Jack, this is a bit different to the crappy thermometers we have at home, how-"

Jack pushed her put of the way, and took the thermometer in his hand. "Do something useful, use the scanner. Do you know how to use that?"

Gwen ignored the sarcasm in Jacks voice and did as she was told.

Jack gently put the tip of the thermometer into Ianto's ear and held it there until it beeped. He withdrew it and swallowed hard when he saw the readings.

"Hundred and eight degrees."

"Shit."

"Yeah."

Suddenly, Ianto moaned. Jack dropped the thermometer to the floor and took Ianto's hand.

"Ianto? Can you hear me? Ianto, wake up, Ianto..."

Ianto groaned, and his eyes blinked open blearily. "Jack..." his voice was hoarse and dry.

"Ianto, I'm here, I'm here, sweetheart."

"Jack... it- hurts..." Ianto's face creased in pain.

"I know, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, this is my fault..."

"Don't... it's not," Ianto gasped and yelped in pain. "It's really... not. Don't... cry, Jack."

Ianto lifted his shaking hand to wipe away Jack's free flowing tears.

"I... love you... Jack."

Jack let out a strangled sob. "I love you too, Ianto."

Ianto smiled, and then his face crumpled in pain again. "It's killing me... Isn't it?"

"No, Ianto, don't say that, you'll be fine, Ianto, I promise, you really will."

Ianto nodded slightly, but his eyes betrayed his doubt.

"Jack... I'm gunna... pass out... again."

Jack started to speak, but Ianto's eyes fluttered closed and his head rolled to one side.

Colour drained from Jack's face. Anger and hurt glittered in his eyes.

Gwen came over and laid a hand on his shoulder, hoping to comfort him.

It did quite the opposite.

Jacks face went even paler, and race contorted his features. He grabbed hold of her wrist and yanked himself up. His grip tightened, and her face crumpled in pain.

"Jack, let go!"

He gripped still firmer, and she yelped and tried to pull away.

"JACK!"

His teeth were bared, almost animalistic.

Then his face cleared, he dropped her arm, and she dropped to the floor, rubbing her wrist.

Gwen looked up, as if expecting an apology, but not getting any.

Instead, she saw Jack looking towards the Cog door, as if startled.

Suddenly, he broke into a run towards it, tripping over the fallen Gwen as he went.

As he sprinted towards it, it began to roll open, revealing a pretty, dark woman.

"Martha, I'm so glad to see you." Jack threw his arms around her and held her tight. Martha held him back, smiling despite the circumstances of their meeting.

"Good to see you too, Jack."

Jack kissed the top of her head lightly, and stepped out of the embrace.

"I need your help. Please."

"I know. Take me to him."

***

Jack and Martha stood around the Autopsy table where Ianto lay, immobile and grey as a corpse.

Martha was taking blood samples, and scanned the still body. Jack stood in the corner, a dark and enigmatic shape against the stark white of the tiles. His face was blank, devoid of all emotion; except his eyes.

His eyes burnt with hot anger, and a fierce compassion that scared Martha even more than the worsening state of Ianto.

His blazing eyes met hers. Her breath left her throat, and she felt tears welling in her own eyes.

"He'll be okay, Jack. Honest."

Still that burning gaze held hers without letting go. The flaming blue orbs blinked closed for a second, and the gaze was dropped to the floor.

Jack nodded, going along with Martha's story, giving himself false hope.

Martha went back to work, and began to note down readings.

***

It had turned quiet in the Hub; Gwen was at her desk, still rubbing her arm. Martha was still examining Ianto, and Jack was now in his office, realising that he could be of no use to Martha.

James the fish stared at Jack from his glass tank. Jack stared back at him, as if seeing who would blink first. Jack did.

James was looking at him, intently- or as intently as a fish could look at you, anyway, thought Jack.

Jack shook his head, and looked back at his desk.

On it were some photos of Ianto and himself. Some he had taken himself, others were taken by Ianto, who was actually a rather skilled photographer. Maybe he could pursue a career in it, though Jack. Not that that's ever going to happen, he's dying on the cold metal table in that God forsaken room. And it's all my fault, he thought. All mine. If I'd never recruited him, he'd never have to be in situations like the one he was in now.

Jack buried his head in his hands.

Then, he heard a scream.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, here's chapter 3. I wrote this in pain, as I fell over and hit my head on a fire extinguisher. It hurt. I'm a klutz.**

**Anyway, Please R&R, I love getting feedback.**

**Happy Reading!!!**

Jack leapt from his desk, moving towards the noise as quickly as his legs would allow him.

The Autopsy room loomed closer.

Jack came to an abrupt halt when he reached the railings, looking down on to the scene in front of him.

Martha's face was crumpled in pain as she slumped against one of the tiled walls, holding her jaw, and blood trickling down her chin.

Ianto was thrashing on the table, covered in sweat, and in visible pain. He was going to hurt himself if he kept this up, thought Jack.

He hovered, not knowing which person to go to. A quick thudding told him that Gwen was rushing up behind him. On seeing the scene, she didn't stop, and ran straight for Martha.

Jack ran to Ianto and straddled his hips, pinning him down as he thrashed like a wild animal, imprisoned in a cage.

Suddenly, the movement stopped, and Ianto was still.

Jack was just about to get up when Ianto's back arched, and a blood-curdling scream erupted from his chest. Jack tightened his grip again, and tried to ignore the panic that was slowly spreading through his body.

Ianto collapsed again, his head lolling to one side, and a small river of blood ran from his mouth.

Once Jack was sure that Ianto was once again unconscious, he carefully picked himself of the body, and went to see to Martha.

She was gingerly picking herself up from the floor, still clutching her jaw.

"He punched me," Martha explained, though her voice was somewhat muffled by her hand. "He didn't mean to, he's in so much pain, it was just a reaction..."

Martha trailed off, wincing into her palm.

"Jack, I have something I need to show you, about Ianto. I'm going to get some ice. I'll meet you in the Boardroom in five, yeah?"

Jack just nodded, and looked over his shoulder at his near dead lover.

***

Martha entered the Boardroom with a bag of ice clutched to her jaw. However, she seemed more intent on flicking through her files.

Jack was growing impatient, and was drumming his fingers atop the desk.

"Okay, Martha, what have you got?"

Martha placed the bag of ice carefully on the table, and pressed a button on the screen, causing it to flare to life. On it was complicated diagrams and graphs that confused Jack sober, God knows what it would have been like if he was drunk.

"I took some blood samples to try and identify the poison Ianto's been infected by," Martha began. "But the results didn't match any poison I've come across ever before. And I have the Torchwood and Unit logs of all new alien poisons they've ever found."

Jack blanched. "So, what does that mean?"

"Well, I tried to bleed the body of the alien of its poison. But it had been dead for too long, I couldn't get anything. But then my scans came up with something... unexpected."

"What?" Jack prompted.

"The creature isn't poisonous."

Puzzlement crossed Jack's face. "What?" he repeated.

"It's not poisonous. Instead..."

There was a pause, and Martha cleared her throat.

"It's passed something on to Ianto. It passed a kind of virus."

Jack's confused face creased further. "Hold on. You're trying to tell me that whatever's wrong with Ianto is just ... some kind of virus? Bullshit."

"An _alien_ virus, Jack. Nothing from Earth."

"Okay, say this is a virus. How's it causing him so much pain?"

Martha took a deep breath, and continued. "It's causing him pain because it's a flesh eating virus. It's eating him from the inside."

***

The little colour that Jack's face had in it left. "Oh, bloody hell, no... Ianto."

Martha gave him a small smile of reassurance, and continued. "Well, at the minute, the virus is just incubating, developing. The virus is making a home for itself, in Ianto's stomach, that is what's causing him pain. It's literally rooted itself to his stomach walls. It still hasn't come out properly, thank God."

Jack stood up quickly. "So how do we cure it?"

Martha winced; as if that was the question she was dreading the most. "... It can't be cured." Seeing Jacks look of horror, she went on. "I searched through medical files going through all of Torchwood history, and most of Units. Only one record of an attack like this appears. It was 46 years ago. And that person... died."

Gwen's voice came through the speakerphone that lay on the table. "Oh, my... But we can still cure him, right? I mean, you said it was still incubating. That gives us time, yeah... We can do something..."

By now, Gwen was becoming slightly hysterical. So Jack took action, and lent very calmly over the desk and snapped the speakerphone shut, cutting Gwen's ramblings off.

"What do we do, Martha?"

Martha looked at the table, as if it held all of the answers they were seeking. "I... I don't know, Jack. I'm so sorry."

Jack sighed, and the fiery determination that flared in his eyes not so long ago died. And that scared Martha the most.

***

Jack sat next to the Autopsy table in a chair. He held Ianto's hade, stroking the back of it softly, his mind unfocused, just staring at his lover on the table.

Ianto was more pare now that ever, his eyelids turning a soft violet, and his mouth was tinged blue. And yet he was still beautiful. In Jack's eyes anyway.

Martha was sitting at Gwen's desk, looking desperately through information that may help Ianto in any way. It was proving fruitless.

Gwen had appeared through the Cog door mere minutes ago, took one look at Ianto and burst into tears, leaving to sit on the beaten sofa.

An alarm sounded, making Jack jump, jerking Ianto's arm as he did so. Gwen jumped out of her seat, and ran towards what had been Tosh's desk and scanned the computer readings.

"Jack?!" Gwen called, her voice wavering uncertainly.

"What?" his voice called.

"... You need to see these readings."

Jack left his seat next to the young man and ran towards Gwen and the screens.

"What?" he repeated.

"These readings make no sense. It says..." her voice trailed off.

"What does it say?"

"... It says there's an energy spike developing... here. In the Hub."

Jack looked at her, confusion clear on his face.

"Is that even possible?" Gwen asked.

Jack considered it, and nodded slowly. "If you think about it, even underground, we still are directly on the Rift."

Gwen's eyes widened in fear and understanding.

A thundering crack rang through the air.

Jack, Gwen and Martha threw their hands over their ears in a pointless attempt to block the sound.

Jack opened his eyes. And they kept widening and widening until they were the size of dinner plates. On his left, Gwen's face bore a similar expression.

A cloud of orange light opened in the centre of the Hub, getting brighter and brighter until a dark shape stepped out of it.

"Well, well, well. You could have redecorated," said Captain John Hart as he swung his sword idly over his shoulder.

**Three cheers, John lovers!!!!**

**Anyway, PLEASE R&R, its muchly appreciated. Thank you!!!**


End file.
